BIRDS' EGGS iii 



happened to be of a different shape. The birds 

 mentioned do not, as a rule, make a great attempt 

 at constructing a homestead; therefore the eggs 

 are not securely lodged in a nest wherein the 

 parent sits and safely covers her treasures. Hence 

 it comes about that the eggs must be so placed 

 that the mother bird can cover them properly, 

 and to the best advantage, and we find that they 

 are so shaped and so placed as to enable this 

 important operation to be successfully carried out. 



The peculiar thing about it is, however, that 

 the eggs of all birds which lay their eggs upon the 

 ground are not pear-shaped, and in this respect 

 we may mention those of the Nightjar, Pheasant, 

 Corncrake, Stone Curlew, the Terns, and others. 

 The eggs of the Nightjar and the Stone Curlew 

 especially are very oval in shape, but the others 

 mentioned are not so much distinguished in this 

 way. 



There are, of course, a number of birds, such as 

 the Tree, Meadow, and Rock Pipits; the Chiff 

 Chaff, Willow Wren, and Wood Wren ; the Grass- 

 hopper Warbler and some of the Tits; the Robin, 

 and very often the Corn Bunting, Yellow Bunting, 

 and Yellow Wagtail; the Woodlark, Stonechat, 

 Whinchat, and Wheatear, which all build on or 

 close to the ground, but these small birds con- 

 struct, for the most part, really good nests, and in 

 these the eggs are snugly ensconced and duly 



